RC Laser Mid-Winter Championships at Mackle Park

On March 2nd and 3rd, the Marco Island Model Yacht Club (MIMYC), in conjunction with the Marco Island Parks & Recreation Department, will host the 16th annual RC Laser Mid-Winter Championship regatta at the Mackle Park lake. George Domenech, former MIMYC commodore, organized the first regatta in 2003 and it is now the longest-standing RC Laser regatta in the country.

Rocky and Mary Lee Cale have been co-chairpersons of the Mid-Winter Championship regatta for the last eight years. Rocky said there are only three major RC Laser regattas held each year: the North American Championship, the National Championship and the Marco Island Mid-Winter Championship. The Mid-Winters has evolved to become the culmination of a southern circuit series of races referred to as the “Snowbird Series.” This series includes regattas in Coconut Creek, the Villages, Tampa, Punta Gorda and Naples, concluding in Marco Island March 2-3, 2019.

The Mid-Winter regatta is very fortunate to have Dave Brawner, former president of the American Model Yachting Association (AMYA), returning as the principle race officer for the sixth year. The number of participants is limited to 30 and races will be conducted on both Saturday and Sunday, March 2 and 3, beginning at 10 AM. On Saturday morning, a series of seeding races will be conducted and the group will then be divided into Gold and Silver fleets based on their initial scores, with the top finishers placed in the Gold Fleet. Saturday afternoon and Sunday, the two fleets will race multiple times in their respective fleets, with awards presented Sunday afternoon to the top five finishers in the Gold Fleet and the top three finishers in the Silver Fleet. Also, this year a special award will be presented to the first place finisher of the first Gold Fleet race in memory and honor of Hank Buchanan, who passed away in November. Hank was a longtime RC Laser sailor from New York City who loved participating in the Marco Island Mid-Winters and won the title in 2006 and 2008.

The regatta participants will start arriving on Marco Island on Friday, March 1 and an informal get-together is planning that evening at the Marco Island Brewery. A more formal dinner is planned at the Marco Island Yacht Club on Saturday night and, in what has become an annual tradition, the group will adjourn to Stan’s Idle Hour in Goodland at the conclusion of the regatta on Sunday.

For additional information, contact Rocky Cale at 239-642-1825.